


Just a Stupid Crush

by gizwish



Category: CrankGameplays - Fandom, Unus Annus - Fandom, markiplier - Fandom
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Misunderstandings, Unrequited Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:54:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25413493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gizwish/pseuds/gizwish
Summary: Ethan knew the lie detector was a horrible idea.
Relationships: Mark Fischbach/Ethan Nestor
Comments: 5
Kudos: 241





	Just a Stupid Crush

**Author's Note:**

> I'm just a sucker for unrequited love, there's so much potential for angst. I have an idea for part two if anyone is interested!

“Have you ever had a crush on me?”

Ethan laughed nervously, suddenly glad Mark was too busy studying the screen to look at him. He’d already answered some embarrassing questions about his hair color and subscriber envy, but this was the only one he was ashamed to answer. 

“Uhhh,” he stalled, scratching the back of his neck. “Yeah,” he settled on the truth, flushing slightly when Mark finally looked up at him. “What about you?” He blurted, and regretted almost as soon as he said it.

Mark’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What about me?”

“Well,” he drawled, looking around for anything but Mark to settle his gaze on. “Have you ever had a crush on me?”

There was only a beat of hesitation before Mark spoke. “No.” And Ethan was suddenly glad they’d only bought a cheap heart monitor, because he didn’t want his heartbreak to be captured on camera. 

He forced a laugh - not very convincingly, by the way Mark looked at him - and motioned for him to continue. “What is this, middle school 20 questions? You can’t think of anything else to ask me?” Mark’s eyes sharpened in challenge and he cleared his throat for the next question, while Ethan sat trying to ignore the ache in his chest. 

**********

“Hey, man,” Mark called from the studio as Ethan walked up the stairs. It had been a few days since the lie detector incident, a few days since Ethan had claimed he was sick and couldn’t film, a few days since they’d really talked at all. Ethan relaxed a little hearing the familiar voice, starting to feel hopeful that maybe they were okay, things weren’t weird or ruined and they could continue as normal. 

That hope was dashed when he saw what video was pulled up on Mark’s computer. “I just finished editing, tell me what you think,” Mark nodded at the screen, rolling his chair to the other side of the desk. 

Ethan reviewed the footage with a lump in his throat, and when there was nothing more than an awkward transition in the middle of the video he turned to Mark for clarity, but Mark wasn’t looking at him. 

**********

Something wasn’t right.

The closeness they had, the comfortable familiarity, the rapport that took years of effort to even  _ begin  _ to build, it seemed to fade away, putting a distance between them that Ethan desperately fought while Mark smiled and insisted nothing was wrong. 

But something wasn’t right.

**********

They kept making videos for Unus Annus. Mark was insistent on following through with his promises, and they’d made a promise. To each other, but most importantly, to their fans. So they filmed during the day and edited at night and somewhere along the lines, they stopped being friends. The good-natured teasing became forced and hollow, the casual affection dwindled to nothing, and no matter what he did, Ethan couldn’t shake the feeling that he made a grave mistake.

**********

When two plants are crowded too close together, they begin to suffocate each other. Each plant needs their own space to bloom, or they will eventually become undernourished, and they need to be separated for their own good. 

Mark bloomed. Ethan wilted. 

**********

_ Are you mad at me? -EN _

He knew it was a long shot. Mark hadn’t texted him about anything other than Unus Annus in two months, and he certainly never replied at - Ethan squinted at his clock - approximately  _ holy:shit  _ in the morning. He probably wasn’t even awake. Ethan waited a few minutes, heart pounding in his chest before he finally resigned himself to another fitful sleep. Right as he clicked his screen off and turned toward the wall, his phone buzzed with a text.

_ For texting me at two in the morning? Absolutely. -MF _

Ethan didn’t know smiling could feel so sad. Sometimes it seemed like they were okay. Most of the time he had no idea what was going on in Mark’s head. 

_ Sorry, I kinda thought you were sleeping. -EN _

He propped his phone up on his bedside table, watching the typing bubbles dance on the screen with half lidded eyes. 

_ Why did you text me if you thought I was sleeping? -MF _

Ethan was replying before he could even think about it. 

_ I was just thinking about how we haven’t really hung out at all for a while, like outside of filming or something, and I know everything is just really crazy right now but like -EN _

He hesitated. 

_ Did I do something wrong? -EN _

The read receipt popped up as soon as he hit send, and he waited with bated breath as Mark began typing, the bubbles popping up and disappearing over and over until he thought he could scream.

By the time he got a response, he almost thought Mark had fallen asleep on him. 

_ Nah man, we’re good. -MF _

Ethan slept. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I want to talk to you,” Ethan demanded as soon as he walked through the door. 

Mark froze halfway through a wave, and dropped his hand. “Uhh, okay,” he said slowly, turning away from his computer. “What’s up?”

“You know what’s up,” Ethan insisted, wincing as his voice cracked. Suddenly feeling self-conscious, he pressed on regardless. “You’ve been acting all weird, and you keep saying you aren’t but  _ you are,  _ and we used to hang out all the time but now I never see you unless we’re filming, and you don’t even talk to me unless the camera is on, and even the fans know you’re being weird! People make comments all the time.” 

Mark hesitated, not quite meeting his eyes. “You know we shouldn’t read the comments…” 

Ethan gaped, his anger suddenly making him brave. “That’s not the point!” He yelled, waving his hands in emphasis. “That’s not the point, and you know it. And now you’re not even admitting it, because you just want to keep pretending nothing is wrong, but  _ I don’t,”  _ he jabbed a finger into his own chest, throat clenching painfully as tears welled up in his eyes. Mark opened his mouth like he wanted to speak, but Ethan kept going. “I just want to know what I did, because I miss you and it’s not the same and I want us to be friends again and -” his breath hitched painfully, “- I’m sorry I made everything weird, I never would have said anything if I knew you were gonna hate me for it,” his voice wilted until it was nothing more than a whisper and he deflated, crossing his arms defensively over his chest and trying/failing to keep the tears from spilling. 

Mark watched him, mouth still slightly open in shock. Or maybe it was in thought, because for the first time when he finally spoke, it wasn’t a brush off. “I don’t hate you,” he said quietly, shaking his head when Ethan scoffed. “No, really! Everything is fine,” he started to insist, but trailed off when Ethan glared at him. The stare was less intimidating through the tears, but even more heart wrenching. He looked down, unable to see his friend in such pain and knowing he was the cause. 

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly, watching Ethan’s eyebrows scrunch in confusion. “I didn’t think...you were so upset.”

Ethan sniffled, trying to discreetly scrub at his eyes with the sleeves of his sweatshirt, suddenly embarrassed about his outburst. “It’s fine,” he mumbled, sinking into the chair opposite Mark. “I made it weird.”

They sat in silence for a minute, both lost in thought, before Mark spoke. “I don’t think you’re weird,” he said simply, and Ethan looked up at him.“I just thought maybe us hanging out was making it hard for you, and I didn’t want to seem like I was like, rubbing it in your face or anything…” he trailed off, laughing softly when Ethan’s nose crinkled. “Yeah, that’s pretty stupid.”

Ethan nodded for a second before finally cracking a smile. “Yeah, you’re kinda dumb,” he agreed, laughing when Mark held a hand to his chest in offense. They fell into another silence; a comfortable one, not as suffocating as the ones prior, and for once Ethan didn’t feel so helpless.

“Do you want to go to the beach?” Mark interrupted his thinking. “I pretty much finished the editing, and I kinda promised Chica I would take her when it got hot, so…” 

Ethan was already nodding, rising from the chair. “Well, we can’t disappoint Chica,” he said matter-of-factly. “We need to get Spencer, he looks like a rat when he’s wet,” he added, grinning when Mark snorted. 

“Oh, we should make them race!” Mark’s eyes widened and he was off on a tangent, rambling the way he always did when he had a new video idea. Ethan couldn’t help but smile as he rolled his eyes. He had his friend back, and that was all that mattered. 

After all, it was just a stupid crush. 


End file.
